First, let me remind people this is Rebooking/Fantasy booking. I bring this up because at this event I'm including a wrestler who was not even in the WWF at the time BUT could have been if the stars had aligned. They didn't, but in the world of rebooking I'm going to book the Survivor Series I would have liked to have seen. So with that, here we go...
SURVIVOR SERIES 1989
THE HULKAMANIACS
Hulk Hogan/ Dusty Rhodes/ Demolition: Ax and Smash
VS
THE FOUR HORSMEN
Ric Flair/ Barry Windham/ Brain Busters: Arn & Tully w/Bobby Heenan
(I know, Ric Flair wasn't in the the WWF in 1989, BUT he almost was. In fact they created Summerslam in 1988 solely to debut Flair but the deal fell through. IF he had arrived in 89 it would have been the perfect time, as 3/4'S of the Four Horsmen were already in the WWF. Flair was the only missing piece. Also, the concept of Survivor Series teams of 4 was custom made for the Four Horseman. If the NWA have a trademark on the term Four Horsmen, then they can simply be called The Heenan Family as I would have had Heenan manage all 4 members. Also, Tully Blanchard left the WWF the night before Survivor Series, which further complicates things. He failed a drug test. But I think his dismissal could have waited until after the event.
On the babyface side, Demoltion continue their awesome feud with the busters, Dusty Rhodes reignites his NWA feud with the Horsemen, and we get the dream match of Hogan vs Flair.
SOLE SURVIVOR: Ric Flair OR Hulk Hogan
(If this is Flair's debut, then he has to win. Perhaps Hogan gets double teamed on the outside of the ring by the other Horsemen and iss consequently counted out then it might be possible. Or Flair could simply hit If Hogan gets the win, then that means this is the end of the feud and Flair debuted much earlier in the year. Perhaps immediately after Wrestlemania 5 thus leading to a Hogan/Flair Summerslam 89 main event. So if this is the beginning of the feud, then I go with Flair. If it's the end of the feud, I give the win to Hulk. Either way, it would have been a great Survivor Series Main Event.)
THE KINGS COURT
Macho King/ Zeus/ Mr.Perfect/ The Genius
VS
TEAM U.S.A
Jim Duggan/ Hercules/ Brutus Beefcake/ Koko B.Ware
(Savage & Zeus vs Hogan was PLAYED out by the end of 89. Savage and Hogan had feuded all year long, while Hogan and Zeus had been feuding since June. Enough is enough. In fact the only reason I keep Zeus around is I think he's a good bodyguard for Savage and a great foil for Hercules. How do you not have a Hercules vs Zeus feud? I mean, come on.
Also, The Genius (Lanny Poffo) is Macho Man's real life brother and the then manager of Mr.Perfect so pairing the two of them with Macho and Zeus makes PERFFECT sense. Even moreso because Perfect and Genius were about to enter a feud with Brutus.
I also like that on the babyface side, every guy carries a prop. Hacksaw has his 2x4, Herc has his chain, Brutus has his scissors and Koko has his parrot)
SURVIVORS: Macho King Randy Savage & Mr.Perfect
(Perfects undefeated streak remains in tact)
THE WARRIORS
Ultimate Warrior/ Rowdy Roddy Piper/ Jake Roberts/ Rugged Ronnie Garvin
VS
THE MILLION DOLLAR TEAM
Andre The Giant/ Ravishing Rick Rude/ Ted Dibiase/ Greg Valentine
(This combines several feuds that went on throughtout 89. Warrior vs Andre. Andre vs Jake. Jake vs Dibiase. Jake vs Rude. Warrior vs Rude. Piper vs Rude. And Garvin vs Valeninte.)
SOLE SURVIVOR: The Ultimate Warrior. Warrior's being booked strong at this point on the way to Wrestlemania to face Hogan, so no sense in having him lose here.)
TAG TEAM SPECIALISTS
Tito Santana/ The Rockers/ The Hart Foundation
VS
THE FRENCH CONNECTION
Rick Martel/ The Rougeaus/ Dino Bravo & Earthquake
(Love The French Connection as a stable. Tito and The Rockers vs Martel and The Rougeaus at Summerslam 89 is probably the match of the year for the WWF in 1989. Have a rematch with Survivor Series rules with the addition of a few more guys and you have a classic survivor series opening match. The faces are referred to as "tag team specialists" as the rockers and harts are both tag teams and Tito was part of the former tag team champions: strike force.
TECHNICALLY, Earthquake is not a french-canadian, but he is canadian and he was Dino Bravo's tag team partner. So I feel he's not too out of place in this match. If people don't like his inclusion, you can easily take him and Jim Neidhart out and have it be 4 on 4. This is the only 5 on 5 match, as the others are all 4 on 4. I don't feel it's necessary to have an arbitrary number attached to each match. If the match calls for 5 on 5, then go with 5 on 5, if it calls for 4 on 4 (Such as with the 4 horsmen) then go with 4 on 4.
SURVIVORS: The Rockers and/or The Hart Foundation
(Survivor Series is about Tag teams, and The Rockers were always referred to as "Tag team specialists" so logically they, or any tag team really, should have the advantage in a survivor series match. So at least one of these matches has to have the Tag Team get the win. Plus, since this is the opening match, a Rockers win gets the crowd into the show.)
LEFTOUT: Akeem, Honky, Snuka, Powers of Pain, Bossman, Bad News, Bushwackers, and Rooster.
No need for any of them. Bossman was feuding with Dusty but I never cared for that feud and would have much rathered see Dusty feud with the Horsemen. Also Bossman and Akeem had no feuds left as a tag team seeing as how they were on the verge of splitting up, as were the Powers of Pain. Bushwackers, Bad News, Rooster, Snuka and Honkytonk were all jobbers at this stage.
SURVIVOR SERIES 1989
THE HULKAMANIACS
Hulk Hogan/ Dusty Rhodes/ Demolition: Ax and Smash
VS
THE FOUR HORSMEN
Ric Flair/ Barry Windham/ Brain Busters: Arn & Tully w/Bobby Heenan
(I know, Ric Flair wasn't in the the WWF in 1989, BUT he almost was. In fact they created Summerslam in 1988 solely to debut Flair but the deal fell through. IF he had arrived in 89 it would have been the perfect time, as 3/4'S of the Four Horsmen were already in the WWF. Flair was the only missing piece. Also, the concept of Survivor Series teams of 4 was custom made for the Four Horseman. If the NWA have a trademark on the term Four Horsmen, then they can simply be called The Heenan Family as I would have had Heenan manage all 4 members. Also, Tully Blanchard left the WWF the night before Survivor Series, which further complicates things. He failed a drug test. But I think his dismissal could have waited until after the event.
On the babyface side, Demoltion continue their awesome feud with the busters, Dusty Rhodes reignites his NWA feud with the Horsemen, and we get the dream match of Hogan vs Flair.
SOLE SURVIVOR: Ric Flair OR Hulk Hogan
(If this is Flair's debut, then he has to win. Perhaps Hogan gets double teamed on the outside of the ring by the other Horsemen and iss consequently counted out then it might be possible. Or Flair could simply hit If Hogan gets the win, then that means this is the end of the feud and Flair debuted much earlier in the year. Perhaps immediately after Wrestlemania 5 thus leading to a Hogan/Flair Summerslam 89 main event. So if this is the beginning of the feud, then I go with Flair. If it's the end of the feud, I give the win to Hulk. Either way, it would have been a great Survivor Series Main Event.)
THE KINGS COURT
Macho King/ Zeus/ Mr.Perfect/ The Genius
VS
TEAM U.S.A
Jim Duggan/ Hercules/ Brutus Beefcake/ Koko B.Ware
(Savage & Zeus vs Hogan was PLAYED out by the end of 89. Savage and Hogan had feuded all year long, while Hogan and Zeus had been feuding since June. Enough is enough. In fact the only reason I keep Zeus around is I think he's a good bodyguard for Savage and a great foil for Hercules. How do you not have a Hercules vs Zeus feud? I mean, come on.
Also, The Genius (Lanny Poffo) is Macho Man's real life brother and the then manager of Mr.Perfect so pairing the two of them with Macho and Zeus makes PERFFECT sense. Even moreso because Perfect and Genius were about to enter a feud with Brutus.
I also like that on the babyface side, every guy carries a prop. Hacksaw has his 2x4, Herc has his chain, Brutus has his scissors and Koko has his parrot)
SURVIVORS: Macho King Randy Savage & Mr.Perfect
(Perfects undefeated streak remains in tact)
THE WARRIORS
Ultimate Warrior/ Rowdy Roddy Piper/ Jake Roberts/ Rugged Ronnie Garvin
VS
THE MILLION DOLLAR TEAM
Andre The Giant/ Ravishing Rick Rude/ Ted Dibiase/ Greg Valentine
(This combines several feuds that went on throughtout 89. Warrior vs Andre. Andre vs Jake. Jake vs Dibiase. Jake vs Rude. Warrior vs Rude. Piper vs Rude. And Garvin vs Valeninte.)
SOLE SURVIVOR: The Ultimate Warrior. Warrior's being booked strong at this point on the way to Wrestlemania to face Hogan, so no sense in having him lose here.)
TAG TEAM SPECIALISTS
Tito Santana/ The Rockers/ The Hart Foundation
VS
THE FRENCH CONNECTION
Rick Martel/ The Rougeaus/ Dino Bravo & Earthquake
(Love The French Connection as a stable. Tito and The Rockers vs Martel and The Rougeaus at Summerslam 89 is probably the match of the year for the WWF in 1989. Have a rematch with Survivor Series rules with the addition of a few more guys and you have a classic survivor series opening match. The faces are referred to as "tag team specialists" as the rockers and harts are both tag teams and Tito was part of the former tag team champions: strike force.
TECHNICALLY, Earthquake is not a french-canadian, but he is canadian and he was Dino Bravo's tag team partner. So I feel he's not too out of place in this match. If people don't like his inclusion, you can easily take him and Jim Neidhart out and have it be 4 on 4. This is the only 5 on 5 match, as the others are all 4 on 4. I don't feel it's necessary to have an arbitrary number attached to each match. If the match calls for 5 on 5, then go with 5 on 5, if it calls for 4 on 4 (Such as with the 4 horsmen) then go with 4 on 4.
SURVIVORS: The Rockers and/or The Hart Foundation
(Survivor Series is about Tag teams, and The Rockers were always referred to as "Tag team specialists" so logically they, or any tag team really, should have the advantage in a survivor series match. So at least one of these matches has to have the Tag Team get the win. Plus, since this is the opening match, a Rockers win gets the crowd into the show.)
LEFTOUT: Akeem, Honky, Snuka, Powers of Pain, Bossman, Bad News, Bushwackers, and Rooster.
No need for any of them. Bossman was feuding with Dusty but I never cared for that feud and would have much rathered see Dusty feud with the Horsemen. Also Bossman and Akeem had no feuds left as a tag team seeing as how they were on the verge of splitting up, as were the Powers of Pain. Bushwackers, Bad News, Rooster, Snuka and Honkytonk were all jobbers at this stage.
